Ed made sure the office door was firmly shut and locked behind him before he turned and stalked towards Colonel Roy Mustang.

Lips lifting in a smirk, Mustang folded a report on his desk and waited for Ed. Ed stalked over, slamming his hands down on the desk and rattling Mustang's jar of pens. "Why didn't you tell me you worked for the hyena?" Ed hissed.

"We do prefer he not be called that," Mustang said, tone rich with amusement. "And I hardly saw any reason for you to know, Fullmetal. We're not supposed to let their existence become public knowledge, after all. Did War forget to tell you?"

Ed's lips drew back from his teeth in a snarl. "I'm not 'public'," he said, then blinked. "...Wait, you knew I served Michael?"

A bit of a chuckle slipped into Mustang's voice. "Naturally, Fullmetal. Something about your extraordinary military skills, perhaps." He examined his fingernails. "Or perhaps it's the way the Most Just does try to keep his Soldiers informed."

"Most Just," Ed snorted. "Everyone knows he's a hyena, preying on his own angels. And now taking Soldiers from the military -- from War's area -- what the hell is that, huh? I thought even you had more shame than to get involved with that!"

"Lord Dominic has his reasons," Mustang said, and shrugged. "And Lord Michael knows, of course, about our presence here. If he didn't see fit to inform you, I hardly see how that reflects on us-"

Ed sputtered. "And what about you, huh? What could justify you working for him?"

Mustang closed his eyes briefly and saw corpses flash behind his lids. He thought of the dead and dying, the innocent and the impure, those who had deserved it and those who had wanted nothing more to live. He thought of the stain on his own hands fire couldn't burn away. It was useless, truly useless, and War could be harsh, War could be cruel, War could get away from its original intentions far too easily, and sometimes it needed a little Judgment weighing in, a little justice to keep it steady.

He opened his eyes, and beckoned to Ed, lips pursed and eyes thoughtful, a secret in his pose. Frowning, Ed shifted forward, leaned in.

"Sometimes, if I ask," Mustang confided, "the Most Just will show up for the weekly visit in a miniskirt."

The resulting explosion was, he decided later, more than worth it.